Mary "Sue" (Donaldson) Karl

 Live streaming of the Mass starts around 11:00 am CST on Thursday, July 11, 2024.

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Mary “Sue” (Donaldson) Karl, 85, of Kansas City, MO, passed away peacefully on June 27, 2024, the Feast Day of our Lady of Perpetual Help, surrounded by her beloved husband and family. While she is physically no longer with us, her spirit lives on in our hearts.

 Sue loved life and radiated joy. She greeted people with a smile that lit up her face and made you feel special, as if you were just the person she was hoping to see at that very moment. Sue was a friend to all. As the Irish poet, William Butler Yeats wrote, "There are no strangers here; only friends you haven't met yet." Never a stranger did she meet and to be a friend of Sue’s was a true gift. She never let you down, remembering birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions with a card or a note. Her penmanship was unmistakable and her words tender and true. Most coveted were the two-dollar bills tucked in the Valentine’s and Halloween cards she mailed. Sue dedicated her life to her husband Jim, their 8 children and her Catholic faith.

 Sue’s love story with Jim began at the tender age of 17, when the two met at a high school football game. He was a Rockhurst College student working the concession stand and she was a senior at Redemptorist High School. She ordered a cup of coffee. He was awestruck by her smile and beauty; she was dumbstruck that he served her hot coffee in a wax cup. Everyone knows you use Styrofoam cups for hot drinks. She told him he was doing it all wrong. He invited her to show him, but she politely declined. Her girlfriends couldn’t leave the chemistry between the two unanswered and so gave Jim her phone number with a note to “Call Sue”, which he did. Soon the two started dating and were inseparable. They regularly participated in a weekly prayer service to Our Lady of Perpetual Help held at Redemptorist Catholic Church in Kansas City, Sue’s family’s parish. And it was there on a Tuesday evening, while standing on the altar that Jim proposed to Sue. They were wed at Redemptorist on September 6, 1958.

 Sue and Jim had many adventures together in their 66 years of marriage, the best ones involving the birth and lives of their 8 children. Sue celebrated each child’s birthday with the fanfare of a national holiday. Yet it was the simple, everyday things she did for her children that provided them structure and routine, taught them responsibility and love. Being a mother was everything to Sue and she looked to her role model, the Blessed Mother Mary, for strength and perseverance. 

 It is Sue’s unwavering devotion to the Blessed Mother and her faith that we will remember always. Sue spoke freely about her faith, and always from the heart. Treasured are the times she said grace before meals, because it was never just about giving thanks for the food, it was her prayer of thanksgiving for her family. It is fitting that she left this life on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

 Sue is survived by her beloved husband of 66 years, the Honorable James F. Karl, 8 children; Jean Ryan (Tom), Jim Karl (Diane), Julie Gramlich (David), Jackie Owens (Roger), Joe Karl (Kim), Jennifer Harms (Paul), Judy Callahan (Mike), and John Karl (Christy); 26 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren; She was preceded in death by her parents, Harry T. and Florence Donaldson and brothers Dick and Mike Donaldson. She is survived by her sister, Judy Mereghetti, and brothers; Pat, Jim, Tim and Tom, CSsR as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and loved ones.

 Services for Sue will be held Thursday, July 11, 2024 at Curé of Ars Catholic Church, 9401 Mission Road, Leawood, KS 66206. Rosary will be prayed at 9:30 am followed by Visitation until 11:00 am when a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated.

 The family would like to thank Catholic Hospice for providing compassionate care in her final days. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests gifts be made to the Athletics Assistant Scholarship at Rockhurst University, by visiting https://www.rockhurst.edu/give. Please indicate your gift is in memory of Sue Karl. Checks made out to “Rockhurst University” can be mailed to Rockhurst University, Attn: Brent Blazek, 1100 Rockhurst Road, Kansas City, MO 64110.